Turns So Cold
by Silver Moon Lit Forest
Summary: Bro/Dave Stridercest. Lips pressed softly against Dave's, as if asking for permission to play this nightly game. The younger Strider, paused, letting the feel of his brother's lips against his settle further into his memory.


**Disclaimer: **I most certainly don't own _Homestuck_.

**Author's Note: **You know what? I really have nothing to fucking say here. Except fucking Striders and fucking angst could fucking rule the damn world. Jesus fuck.

_Read, review, and please enjoy!_

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The silence pressed in around him until Dave felt like he was suffocating. He glanced at his window, contemplating opening it even though it was the dead of winter. Texas never got too cold but it was cold enough. Even under his stack of quilts, he shivered but the silence of an empty apartment finally got the better of him.

Without a second thought, he swung socked feet over the edge of the bed and moved towards the window. He pressed a palm to the glass, shivering at how cold it felt. He could hear the wind whistling past and the noise gave him pause. But once again the silence pressed in on his ears and he couldn't take it.

As soon as the barrier between his room and the frigid wind outside was gone, freezing air rushed in around him, blowing back his hair and licking at the legs of his sleep pants. Hugging himself, the blonde hastily made his way back to the bed. Even as he slipped under the stack of quilts, the cold spread through the apartment along with the sound of sirens piercing the silence of the night.

For a brief moment, he wasn't suffocating in his own thoughts. And then just as quickly as it had come, it was gone with the emergency vehicle. What was left was the barely audible sound of the few cars that rushed past on the street far below. It was like every other sound in the world he heard through cotton, except for one.

Dave grit his teeth at the thought and shoved it away, instead thinking about anything else in the world. Jerking the covers up past his ears, he concentrated on the sound of the wind. He thought about how much homework he had, sitting undone in his book bag by his desk. It would make for good distraction, but that meant slipping from the warmth of his bad and that wasn't about to happen. He could always get on the computer, talk with John or Rose but neither option was very appealing at the moment.

If he was truthful with himself, he just wanted to let whatever emotion was lurking closest to the surface swallow him whole. But that was only if he was truthful. He'd developed a bad habit recently of avoiding such truths. They brought up too many unanswered questions, too many unsaid words. Emotion was over rated in the first place, but that had never stopped the way his heart hurt as he laid in bed, alone. It didn't stop his stomach from twisting in knots as he tried to work his way through all the things in his head. And it sure didn't stop the rush of joy he felt when…

The sound of the front door swinging open broke through the cotton in his ears to slam into his ear drums. Every muscle in his body tensed, but he made no move to get out of bed. He tugged the covers further up, covering most of his head. His chest rose and fell with uneven breaths and the urge to grab his shades off the bedside table almost had him flashing an arm out to grab them. But there were footsteps in the hall and moving now meant giving up what had almost become a game.

Dave held his breathe as the footsteps paused a moment at his door, before they moved across the span of his room. He slipped the covers down low enough to watch his bother move across his room in the darkness. If he hadn't lived with the man for sixteen years, he would have never heard him. Bro moved with a silent grace to everyone except Dave. The large man was still grace full but there was no covering the sound of movement against his younger brother's hearing any more. Not that Bro even tried anymore.

Not after so long. Not after so many things had changed between them.

Dave watched Bro place his gloved hands on the window seal, giving no indication that he felt the chill of the wind that was still blowing through the open space. After a moment, he slid the window closed with a barely audible sound of metal against metal.

Dave clenched his fists in the covers he still held, mind whirling with ways he could get out of the coming situation. But there was no getting out of what was to come. Not that he even wanted to. He hadn't wanted to for years. Despite what Bro seemed to think was better for him. But thoughts of what was better for Dave hadn't stopped Bro the first time and it wasn't going to stop him now.

Bro didn't move for long seconds and then he turned and Dave was done. There was no going back. Not that there ever was or would be. Even through his brother's shades, his gaze was caught and he was frozen in place. Like a mouse under the gaze of a cat who was about to pounce with one small twitch of tail from its prey. But Dave was no mouse and Bro was more of a predator than a cat could ever dream of being.

Bro moved forward on bare feet gone pale in the cold of the room. Dave could make out the goose flesh on his arms but never once did he shiver. He stopped beside the younger Strider's bed; gaze still locked with Dave's. Dave's breath hitched slightly, barely noticeable to anyone but the man staring him down right that second.

Bro's face was the same blank mask it always was, unreadable even to the person who knew him the best. In the dark of the night and the chill of the room, Bro was almost emotionless. But Dave knew better than anyone what lurked behind the façade, knew exactly how much emotion was hidden under layers and layers of masks and nothingness.

With slow, deliberate motions, the elder Strider tugged off his gloves, placing them on the bedside table. Next came the hat, and then, lastly, the shades. Dave found himself staring into eyes just as strange as his own, and was incapable of looking away. Hands much larger than his own, and more deadly than any gun, tugged the covers further down, uncovering slightly parted lips and cheeks flushed from cold and something much less innocent.

The same hands that had held him when he was a baby pushed into the mattress beside his head and this time Dave didn't try to cover up the small hitches in his breath. It was useless in the first place and from this close…He could hide nothing from his brother even when Bro could hide everything from him.

Lips pressed softly against Dave's, as if asking for permission to play this nightly game. The younger Strider, paused, letting the feel of his brother's lips against his settle further into his memory. Arms came up out from under the warmth of the covers, wrapping firmly around Bro's neck and pulling him closer. Dave really didn't know what Bro was thinking these days, seemingly asking for something Dave had never been capable of saying no to. And the slighter blonde never planned on say such a thing.

"So cold,  
It's never enough, it's always too much,  
For what you never say,  
What you never go and say,  
You're so cold."  
"Turns So Cold" – Drowning Pool

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**Author's Note: **Oh look! Another chapter fic for me to slowly update! Aren't you folks so damn excited? I know I am! *sags to the ground* Someone just slap me around a bit if I take too long to update. Also, the lyrics will make more sense in the next chapter. I promise. They have a point and yes this song did inspire the fic so I guess most of ya'll would consider it a song fic. *shrugs* It is what it is. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading. And remember! I'm not a mind reader! I won't know what you think unless you tell me.


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